Richard Dawkins urges all atheists to openly state their position — and to fight the incursion of the church into politics and science. A fiery, funny, powerful talk.
http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_dawkins_on_militant_atheism.html
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Tagged with “religion”
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TED: Richard Dawkins on militant atheism
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Can single individuals still shape history? The Case of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden was one of America’s most formidable and implacable enemies. And yet no one has written a serious assessment of his influence over world events in the last decade. Michael Scheuer; a former head of CIA’s Osama bin Laden Unit provides an objective and authoritative portrait of bin Laden. Michael Scheuer was the chief of the CIA’s bin Laden unit from 1996 to 1999 and remained a counterterrorism analyst until 2004. He is the author of many books, including Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terrorism. His latest book is Osama Bin Laden.
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KQED Forum: Sam Harris
Author Sam Harris joins us to discuss his new book, "The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values." The book explores the perils of moral relativism and the relationship between knowledge and values.
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To The Best of Our Knowledge: The Universe
Leonard Mlodinow and co-author Stephen Hawking say that you can explain the existence of everything without requiring God. Charles Yu’s novel details some of the perils of existence in multiple time streams. James Kakalios says that some of the early quantum physicists were inspired by science fiction. John Polkinghorne is the author of many books on the subject of bridging the gap between science and religion. Michio Kaku tells us exactly why the impossible just takes a little longer.
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audioto.me: The Skull by Philip K. Dick
An early short story by legendary science fiction author Philip K. Dick. (http://2xrainbow.com/audiotome/category/podcast)
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Sam Harris - THE NEW SCIENCE OF MORALITY
The failure of science to address questions of meaning, morality, and values, notes neuroscientist Sam Harris, has become the primary justification for religious faith. In doubting our ability to address questions of meaning and morality through rational argument and scientific inquiry, we offer a mandate to religious dogmatism, superstition, and sectarian conflict. The greater the doubt, the greater the impetus to nurture divisive delusions.
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Meet The Author: Richard Dawkins
He’s the King of All the Atheists, and now Richard Dawkins is hammering home what he sees as his key argument against the existence of God. In his book, The Greatest Show on Earth, Dawkins aims to put the theory of evolution in a factually unassailable position.
Here, at Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2010, he goes through his book chapter by chapter, and in doing so attempts to convince his audience of the absolute veracity of Darwin’s theories. Date: Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800 Location: Adelaide, Australia, Adelaide Writers’ Week, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Program and discussion: http://fora.tv/2010/03/01/Meet_The_Author_Richard_Dawkins
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New Yorker Fiction Podcast: Julie Hayden’s “Day-Old Baby Rats”
Lorrie Moore reads Julie Hayden’s "Day-Old Baby Rats."
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The New Yorker Fiction Podcast: Julian Barnes reads Frank O’Connor
Julian Barnes reads Frank O’Connor’s "The Man of the World."
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1956/07/28/1956_07_28_019_TNY_CARDS_000250130
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Intelligence Squared: The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world
Chair Zeinab Badawi introduces the motion ‘The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world.
Initial Vote: 678 For, 1102 Against, Undecided 346
Final Vote: 268 For, 1876 Against, Undecided 34
Arguing in favour of the motion are Archbishop John Onaiyekan and the Rt Hon. Ann Widdecombe MP.
Archbishop Onaiyekan begins by insisting that if the Catholic Church were not a force for good, he would not have devoted his entire life to serving it. He says that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church exists because of its 1.6 billion members worldwide, rather than in spite of them. He points not only to the spiritual assistance that his Church provides, but also to the tangible aid that is given internationally through Catholic projects. Finally, he admits that Catholics are not infallible, but are by necessity sinners trying to improve themselves through their faith.
Ann Widdecombe suggests that in trawling all the way back to the Crusades to find something to blame the Catholic Church for, Christopher Hitchens merely demonstrates how flimsy his argument really is. Why would the Pope have hidden 3,000 Jews in his summer palace during the Second World War if the Catholic Church was an antisemitic organisation? Admittedly, the New Testament does blame a Jew for the death of Christ; but it also blames a Roman, Pontius Pilate. Are we to infer then that Catholicism is anti-Italian as well as antisemitic? Widdecombe insists that the actions of the Catholic Church in the past should be judged with a degree of historical relativism; they were not the only people to murder and torture those deemed guilty of wrongdoing. She entreats us to imagine a world without the benefits of the Catholic Church, which provides hope, education and medical relief all over the globe.
Arguing against the motion are Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry.
Christopher Hitchens asserts that any argument trying to identify the merits of the Catholic Church must begin with a long list of sincere apologies for its past crimes, including but not limited to: the Crusades; the Spanish inquisition; the persecution of Jews and the forced conversion of peoples to Catholicism, especially in South America. He illustrates the vacuity of recent Catholic apologies by drawing on the case of Cardinal Bernard Law – shamed out of office in the US for his part in covering up the institutionalised sexual abuse of children – whose punishment from the Vatican was to be appointed a supreme vicar in Rome, and who was among those assembled in the 2005 Papal Conclave to choose the next Pope. Hitchens concludes by reminding the Archbishop that his own Church has been responsible for the death of millions of his African brothers and sisters, citing the Church’s disastrous stance on Aids prevention, as well as the ongoing trials in Rwanda in which Catholic priests stand accused of inciting massacre during the 1994 genocide.
Stephen Fry concedes that his opposition to the motion is a deeply personal and emotional one. He criticises the Catholic Church not only for the horrors it has perpetrated in the past, but also for its ideology, and for its sinister temerity to preach that there is no salvation outside of the Church. With two words he refutes Anne Widdecombe’s suggestion that the Catholic Church does not have the powers of a nation state: “The Vatican”. As a homosexual, Fry reflects how bizarre it is to be accused of being “immoral” and “a pervert” by an institution that has persistently hushed up the rape and abuse of children under its care, and whose leading members, abstentious nuns and priests, all share an attitude towards sex that is utterly unnatural and dysfunctional. He concludes by questioning whether Jesus, as a humble Jewish carpenter, would have approved of all the pomp and excess of the Catholic Church, and whether he would even have been accepted by such an arrogant organisation.
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